What is Neurourbanism?

Places have emotions. They hum with the memories of those who have lived, laughed, and lingered in their corners. They carry the weight of joy, sorrow, and everything in between—because we, the people, imprint our feelings onto the spaces we inhabit.

However, it’s more than remembrance. Places have the power to mold us. A sunlit park can lift our spirits. A bustling street can sharpen our focus. A contemplative garden can calm the mind. These spaces, with their scenery, colors, and rhythms, subtly whisper to our brains, evoking emotions and thoughts that often escape our notice.

For a long time, we have been building cities without truly understanding their impact on us. Today, over half the global population lives in urban areas—a collective experiment in crowded, fast-paced living. Epidemiological studies warn of the risks: stress, loneliness, cognitive overload. Yet, we still know surprisingly little about how the brain navigates the city’s chaos, or how urban design can be used as a tool for wellbeing.

But now, neurourbanism is unlocking this mystery!

Neurourbanism is an approach to transforming cities into intentionally mentally healthy living environments. It bridges interdisciplinary scientific rigor with actionable urban planning. It reveals the hidden emotional and cognitive signatures of spaces, showing how a street, park, or building can influence our minds in profound ways.

This knowledge is transformative. It is the key to designing cities that don’t just function but feel—cities that nurture mental health, encourage creativity, and foster human connection. In a world where urbanisation is making public spaces more critical than ever, neurourbanism isn’t just a buzz word. It’s a revolution in how we live.

Neurourbanism is often described as an emerging field, yet the first positioning paper was published nearly a decade ago.¹Adli, M., et al., Neurourbanism: towards a new discipline. The Lancet Psychiatry, 2017. 4(3): p. 183-185. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313971185_Neurourbanism_towards_a_new_discipline. Since then, some theoretical approaches and research efforts have emerged (a total of 20 papers published at the time of writing). However, humanity is yet to experiment with and fully explore a working definition. Only recently has this concept begun to take center stage in urban studies. Researchers from across disciplines are now collaborating with practitioners and urban decision-makers, working more hands-on with the concept to understand its real-world application and potential benefits.

The NeuroLandscape team embraced this challenge within the GreenInCities consortium a year ago and is on the way to testing out a novel Neurourbanism Assessment (NUA) approach in three European cities. To find out more about the NUA, you can read our article here.

Most sources define neurourbanism predominantly by its interdisciplinary nature, i.e. joining the two disciplines reflected in its name: neuroscience and urban studies. However, the concept extends far beyond these two fields and invites a broader spectrum of disciplines into its collaborative framework (see image 1 below). What makes neurourbanism particularly fascinating is that its collaborative framework is not limited to academic disciplines. Rather, it embraces transdisciplinarity—moving beyond the mere convergence of different fields toward a deeper integration to tackle real-world urban challenges. This requires active participation from diverse stakeholders, including municipalities, policymakers, urban practitioners, and citizens alike.

Interdisciplinarity is a trendy buzzword, often seen as a golden ticket to innovative ideas. However, in practice, it is far more difficult to achieve.  Bringing together experts and professionals from diverse experiential backgrounds means navigating different, and, at times, conflicting perspectives that challenge productive and effective communication to develop impactful solutions.

For example, some neuroscientists remain skeptical of neurourbanism, preferring strictly controlled lab-based studies over ecological approaches. This reluctance is gradually subsiding.  Advances in wearable technology and mobile neuroimaging now allow for real-world neural data collection, fueling a growing interest in real-world neuroscience—the study of the brain within its natural habitat. This technological progress not only strengthens neurourbanism’s interdisciplinary foundation but also encourages broader collaboration among researchers who recognize the need to examine cognition and behavior in authentic urban environments.²Vigliocco, G., et al., Ecological brain: reframing the study of human behaviour and cognition. Royal Society open science, 2024. 11(11): p. 240762. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.240762

This shift shows that neurourbanism is still emerging and seeking its spot in academia. The path towards transdisciplinary practice appears even bumpier with many obstacles still to be overcome. Nevertheless, early signs of progress are visible already! For example, Singapore’s National Parks Board has adopted psychological and neuroscientific insights into its urban design strategies, while Nova Goriza (Slovenia), Helsinki (Finland) and Athens (Greece) will soon test their first NeuroUrbanism Assessment as part of the GreenInCities project.

Neurourbanism shows great promise when it comes to its objectives: it aims to inform both health and planning. Its first step towards real world application, however, is through its contribution to the latter – transforming how our cities are designed and built. To this end, the main goals of neurourbanism include gaining a better understanding of how urban surroundings affect our everyday life. This could pave the way to developing novel ideas and analytical methods that aid the creation of better cities (built or natural environments) and improve the mental and physical wellbeing of individuals and communities by making cities both climate resilient and more livable.³Tewari, K., M. Tewari, and D. Niyogi, Need for considering urban climate change factors on stroke, neurodegenerative diseases, and mood disorders studies. Computational Urban Science, 2023. 3(1): p. 4. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43762-023-00079-w

As the name suggests, neurourbanism applies neuroscience research to provide more objective insights on human responses to urban environments, in comparison to the more subjective method of self-reports. Many people are not aware of the nuances of their spatial perceptions and much of what happens in the brain occurs unconsciously. In other words, self-reported methods, such as surveys, wouldn't be enough for neurourbanism - the respondent simply does not have access to the necessary information. This is why neurourbanism prioritizes the brain imaging methods that allow us to get the information directly from the human brain.

Thanks to its transdisciplinary nature and strong focus on real-world applicability, neurourbanism prioritizes in-situ measurements. This means favoring studies conducted in actual environments and involving real citizens in data collection. In-lab experiments or those using “heavy” brain imaging tools such as fMRI and PET scans provide minimal, if any, ecological validity. This is why neurourbanism prioritized the use of portable EEG and fNIRS, wristbands, and wearable eye tracking, among other devices.

Neurourbanism does not only rely on neurophysiological data. It also integrates self-reported questionnaires and cross-references with contextual-environment quality metrics, combining numerous methods for a comprehensive analysis. These include visual quality assessments, geo-spatial tools with street mapping, computer vision and artificial intelligence. This not only allows researchers to measure and visualize their subject of study but also to predict the brain activity patterns influenced by exposure to urban spaces.

Neurourbanism is not challenging clinical lab-based approaches, nor replacing medicine and clinical interventions. Instead, it complements them by applying interdisciplinary knowledge in real-world environments. This emerging field challenges us to rethink the emotional and cognitive impacts of our surroundings and reflect on two important questions: Where did our traditional approaches to building cities fail us? And most importantly, how can we move forward?

Imagine cities that are actively improving our health rather than consistently putting it at risk, where green spaces reduce stress, walkable neighborhoods combat loneliness, and every landscape view is designed with brain health in mind.

This is the promise of neurourbanism.

As we stand at the intersection of science and urbanism, the question is not whether neurourbanism will shape the future of cities—but how quickly we will embrace it. The tools are here, the evidence is growing, and the need has never been greater.

Let’s not just build cities; let’s build cities that build us back!